In Check
by zara2148
Summary: Dr. Tenma meets Sherlock Holmes. X-over with Astro Boy.


**In Check**

Holmes led Watson down a darkened corridor of New Scotland Yard, allowing their stalker to feel safe in pursuing them. They had been shadowed for a week now, and none of the traditional methods of surveillance such as cameras had revealed anything of importance. Their opponent was clearly familiar with other types of tracking technology, as any traces they might have left were carefully absent.

Holmes had come to realize that he would have to be the one to make the first move if he wished to make any progress in uncovering their identity. Curiosity may have killed the cat, but let it not be said that the cat did not die nobly.

With clear intent they guided their pursuer down to what they knew to be a dead end section, listening for the sound of automatic doors shutting behind them.

"Now, Watson!" On his cue, Watson jumped at the shadows from which his hearing sensors had picked up footsteps. Sounds of a scuffle could be heard, Watson's systems whirring as his opponent panted from the struggle. A triumphant cry of "I got him Holmes!" followed by an "Oof!" Then there was a blinding flash, and a dull thud as a body hit the ground.

"Watson!"

A smooth baritone voice drifted from the darkness. "Ah, I had hoped to remain undiscovered for a little while longer."

A glare was shot the attacker's way. "If you've hurt him…" Holmes let the unspoken threat dangle, his cane posed to strike.

"I have no interest in harming it. Permanently, at least." A figure stepped out of the gloom, the overgrown beard and unruly hair looking rather rooster-like upon the thin man. He slipped a glowing device into a left pocket on the trenchcoat hanging off his frame. "Do not worry, it is only stunned. A magnetic pulse which will render its systems inoperable for the next few minutes."

"Dr. Tenma, I presume. The famous ex-Minister of Science." Holmes cocked his head a few degrees to his right, his gaze piercing as arrows. "Or should I say infamous?"

"You know of my work." A mocking bow. "Truly, I am honored."

"A pulse of that magnitude would have disabled the automatic doors as well, and they were the only way out. You're trapped here until the effect wears off."

"Then that should give us some time to get to know each other."

Relaxing the grip on his cane slightly, Holmes crossed his arms in front of his chest and arched an eyebrow at the scientist before him. "Why have you been following me?"

"It was not you I was interested in. It was your partner… Watson. I had hopes that the robotic assistant of Sherlock Holmes would be worth a study, if only for the deductive abilities it would have picked up." A measured glance was leveled at the unconscious robot. "Frankly, I found it to be a disappointment. It's a simple literary analysis of the narrator's voice in Watson's journals used to establish a mimicry program. Even less of a detective than its predecessor, I'm certain."

Holmes' hands tightened into fists, strangling his cane. The doctor continued unabated. "A crude method for a crude A.I. Britain is so disappointedly behind when it comes to robotics."

"If you think I'll tolerate you insulting Watson –"

"So needlessly protective. It's merely a statement, not an insult. I was just surprised you wanted him to remain that way. I thought it more likely you would have improved upon it."

"Watson is fine just the way _he_ is."

A hint of excitement snaked into the even tone. "Oh, I'm not denying that. A robot companion is so much preferable to a human one."

An eyeblink. "Come again?"

"A robot, after all, can't criticize your habits. Can't abandon you in favor of marriage." There it was, a near imperceptible wince. The doctor's eyes narrowed. "Oh yes, I've read all your adventures. You and the original Watson… is that model not an improvement? It is designed to be nothing less than perfect and all that you will ever need. An unfalteringly loyal robot that will never leave you."

Holmes's face had blanched, but some color returned as he got a retort in. "Hmm, it doesn't sound like we're talking about me anymore."

"Your robot may have been a letdown." Ahh, seems he had touched a sore spot. "But your friend Moriarty intrigues me. He may be of some use to me." Those eyes of his were gleaming far too brightly, a madman's joy dancing in them.

"Moriarty's never of use to anyone but himself."

"If I were to ask him to work willingly for me, perhaps. But I'm not seeking an alliance with him."

"Then you're going to be playing a very dangerous game, trying to manipulate him." Holmes fidgeted from suppressed energy. "Is this what you've been reduced to, Dr. Tenma? Twisting others to serve your own devious ends? You, who were once a highly respected scientist?"

"And what about you, Mr. Sherlock Holmes? Living at the beck and call of New Scotland Yard?" He sneered. "Who was it that said, 'better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven'?"

"The Devil. You're in good company," Holmes spat caustically. A gleam danced in his eyes now. "I've heard all about you, Dr. Tenma. About how the death of your son drove you mad with grief, to where you built a robotic replacement to comfort you. How you abandoned your creation, only to seek him out again now that he's been renamed as Astro." Holmes' blue irises hardened as his eyes narrowed. "For all your genius talents, you can only pursue a corrupted wish born of love and loneliness."

A long stretch of overdue silence fell as the two locked gazes. The tense calm was shattered by a reply as a soft as a blanket thrown over a bed of knives. "I do not believe you are in any position to be judging me."

There was a scraping sound as the robot beside them stirred. Watson's slurred "Holmes?" as he slowly awakened brought a smirk to Tenma's face, a smirk which only widened when Holmes rushed over to help him.

His arms were around the robot in seconds, cradling him. "Watson, are you alright?" Behind him, Holmes caught the sound of pressurized air escaping, signaling that the doors were opening.

"Lie to yourself all you wish. But that is not the real Watson, and never will be." One final parting smirk shot at him over his shoulder. "This conversation has been most enlightening, even if you've learned nothing from it."

Dr. Tenma left through the doors, with the very rare honor of stunning Sherlock Holmes speechless.


End file.
